Rafa defeats Chung 7-5, 6-3.!! In so doing he has secured the no. 1 end of year ranking. Although he says this wasn’t his priority – playing competetively and in good health was his main objective – he will be very pleased with the result. It should also ease the pressure somewhat.
Does anyone know whether any other player has become no. 1 on four separate occasions and ended up no.1 at the end of the year each time ? I know Roger has held the no. 1 spot for the longest amount of time but I wonder if Rafa has broken a record for this particular achievement.

– 3rd time reclaiming the ATP YE no1. Only Lendl, Federer and Djokovic have done it – ONCE.
– Biggest stretch between 2 ATP YE no1’s: 9 years (2008 – 2017), breaking Sampras and Federer’s record of 6 years.
– Is going to be the olderst player to finish the year as the world no1 at 31 years and 5 months.

Thank you Rainier . Rafa has certainly exceeded all expectations for 2017. But the best thing of all is that he can break all these records and still be the same humble guy as always.
What a remarkable man !!